The final set of laws passed during Nevada’s 2023 legislative session went into effect Wednesday, including measures related to ending the subminimum wage for disabled employees and removing the sales tax on diapers.
Parts of six laws are now in effect out of the more than 400 laws enacted in 2023. Batches of new laws went into effect last January and July, as well as in July and October of 2023.
Read below for the highlights.
Ending subminimum wage
The first aspect of the law phasing out the use of subminimum wages for disabled employees is taking effect.
AB259 will phase out all subminimum wage employment in Nevada by Jan. 1, 2028. Starting in 2025, new contracts or arrangements with job providers cannot include a subminimum wage.
The bill, which passed unanimously, follows a failed effort in 2019 to end subminimum wages.
President Joe Biden’s administration also recently took steps to phase out subminimum wages for people with disabilities nationwide. The Department of Labor released a proposed rule in early December that would immediately stop the issuance of certificates allowing employers to pay a subminimum wage. It will be subject to a public comment period, and its future remains uncertain under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
The legality of subminimum wages has allowed employers to pay people with disabilities as little as 3 to 4 cents per hour.
Motorcycle licensing
SB423 waives the penalties for motorcycle riders who get pulled over without a motorcycle’s license if they attend a motorcycle course and get licensed within nine months.
The legislation was spearheaded by a UNLV medical school student who sought to make the state’s motorcycle licensing process simpler and safer, as he found that licensure courses were consistently booked and there were minimal penalties for riding without a license.
The Legislature’s eight GOP senators were the only ones to oppose the bill.
Sales tax for diapers
SB428, the bill allowing for diapers to be exempted from the state’s sales tax, will begin Jan. 1 after voters approved the exemption through a ballot question in November.
More than 68 percent of voters approved the exemption, so the bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, will now take effect.
With the passage of the ballot question, diapers will join a slew of other exemptions to the state sales tax, including food, feminine hygiene products and prosthetic devices.
Prohibitions on drone purchases
SB11 allowed local governments to use drones to conduct building and fire safety inspections.
That aspect of the legislation went into effect in October 2023, but starting Jan. 1, local governments are not allowed to purchase drones from certain Chinese military companies identified by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The bill passed with the support of all legislators except for Assemblywomen Sarah Peters (D-Reno) and Shondra Summers-Armstrong (D-Las Vegas) and Sens. Lisa Krasner (R-Reno) and Robin Titus (R-Wellington).
